Platform for ladders



M R. MYERS PLATFORM FOR LADDERS May 15, 1923. I 1,455,221)

Filed Nov 5, 1921 61 Hornet;

Patented May 15, l92l3,

bl l T f.

MARTIN MYERS, OF GRAND EAP IDS MIOHIGAN.

PLATFORM FOR LADDERS.

Application filed November 3, 1921. Serial No. 512,557.

T 0 all Q0/1077? it may concern Be it known that I, MARTIN R. MYERS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county ofKent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Platforms for Ladders; and I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to a platform for attachment to a ladder, and ithas for its principal (object to provide novel means for attaching theplatform in a horizontal position to the ladder to permit the personusing the ladder to stand on the platform while working instead of onthe rungs, thus insuring comfort, a better foot-hold, and guardingagainst accidents.

One and a veryimportant feature of the invention is to provide aplatform Which is retractible, thus permitting it to be quickly andeasily moved from its operative position to a position to permit aperson on the ladder to ascend or descend without interference of theplatform; To move the platform to its inoperative position, it is onlynecessary to kick it with the foot.

Another feature of the invention is the novel brackets which areemployed for connecting the platform with the stiles of the ladder,these bracketsbeing novel in that they are capable of being easily andreadily adjusted vertically to permit the platform to be raised andlowered as the workman ascends or descends.

Other constructional features bringing about important advantages willappear as the description goes on.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the improved platform andattaching brackets showing the same connected to a ladder.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane of theline 2 2 of Fig. 1..

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section taken substantially on the planeof the line 3-3 of Fig.1.

- Figures land 5 are views in perspective of the attaching means showingthe constructionof these parts more clearly.

By referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the platform 1 issimply in the form of a comparatively short but relatively wide piece ofboard which is disposed transversely and horizontally in front of theladder L. Broadly speaking, this platform can be described as beingretract-ible, because it is capable of being swung toward and from theladder to permit it to be dis posed in front of the same when in use ordisposed in an entirely out-of-the-way position to permit the personoccupying the ladder to ascend or descend without interference of theplatform. This is a feature of the invention to be carefully considered.In order to render the platform retractible and for the purpose ofadjustably connecting t with the stiles of the ladder to permit it to beraised and lowered to enable the user to make use thereof at differentelevations, I employ novel attaching brackets. It may be convenientlystated here that inasmuch as these brackets are duplicates, of oneanother, the description will be confined more or less to the singularnumber, it being understood that all like numerals designate theduplicate parts. Proceeding, it will be seen that the attaching bracketincludes an arm 2 which projects laterally and forwardly from the ladderand it will be further seen that the aforesaid platform is designed torest on the upper edges of the bracket arms. One of these bracket armssmall substantially U-shaped bracket the horizontal arms of which areformed with alined openings constituting hearings in which a pivot pin42 carried by one end of the platform is journalled. With thisconstruction, it will be seen that by simply kicking the platform, thelatter can be swung on its pivot to position it in an out of-the-wayplace.

To permit the platform to be raised. and lowered, the brackets areadjustably con-- nected with the stiles of the ladder and although someother construction could be employed for accomplishing this result, itwill be seen that each arm is equipped with spaced adjustable abutments5 and 6 respectively. The first named abutment is formed by simplybending the metal strip which forms the bracket arm laterally asindicated at 7. The remaining abutment however, comprises asubstantially l..-shaped plate which is ad justably connected with theslotted bracket is equipped with a arm 2 by means of a binding device 8which includes a thumb nut and this arrangement permits the abutments tobe moved toward and from each other to be effectively engaged withdifferent widths of stiles. it may be conveniently stated here that achannel-shaped plate 10 is associated with a bracket arm and L-shapedabutment to prevent relative movement of these parts and the aforesaidbinding device 8 serves to hold this channel-shaped plate in position.The lateral flanges of the channel-shaped plate overlie the short arm ofthe L-shaped abutment and upper edge of the bracket arm and in this wayprevent the aforesaid relative movement of these parts.

After the abutments are engaged with the ladder, it is desired toprevent them from accidentally slipping down or becoming otherwiseaccidentally displaced and to accomplish this end I employ a novelclamping device or retainer which is generally designated by the numeral11. The part of the invention just referred to can be clearly seen inFigs. 3 and iand by referring to these figures, it will be seen that theclamping device comprises a slotted plate which has its opposite endsbent laterally in the same direction as indicated at 12 and 13.

The short bend 12 is engagedwith an extension 14 of the aforesaidbracket arm and bolts and nuts 15 serve to connect these parts togetherto permit the clamping device to be adjusted for effective engagementwith different sizes of ladder stiles. The laterally bent end 13 of theclamping device is designed, as shown, to bear against the inner sideofthe ladder stile, to prevent accidental slippage of the plat-formsi'ipporting arm '2. A tongue 16 is struck laterally from the free endof the endlB of this clamping device and this tongue constitutes a stopwhich is designed to engage the abutment 5 to limit the sliding movementof the clamping device in one direction. With this construction, it willbe seen that even if the clamping device should accidentally becomeloosened and slip. the limited. sliding movement thereof will serve toprevent the entire device from be coming accidentally disconnected fromthe ladder. This feature of construction is also advantageous in that itpermits the abutments to be moved just far enough apart to oermitthedevice to be raised and lowered,

. yet because of the limited sliding movement of the clamping device,the supporting bracket will notbecom'e accidentally disengaged duringthis period of adjustment.

In use, the aforesaid abutments of the brackets are adjusted to properlyfit the stiles of the ladder and the binding devices 8 are tightened tohold the parts in'such position". The slidable clamping plates 11 arethen engaged with the inner sides of the stiles and the binding devices15 which are associated therewith are tightened. In attaching the deviceto the ladder, it will be necessary, in order to maintain the platformin a truly horizontal position, to space the abutments sufficiently farapart so as to permit one edge only of each abutment to engage thestile. Hence, when it is desired to raise or lower the platform, theclamping devices 11 are simply loosened and the entire devices moved upor down the desired distance. The supporting brackets of course arearranged opposite one another so as to render the platform level and inpractice, suitable means (not shown) may, if desired, be employed. forholding the left'hand end of the platform engaged with the bracket atthis side to prevent accidental swinging of the platforn'i. Thisretaining means for the platform, however, is not essential, as theweight of the person standing on the platform will ordinarily preventaccidental swinging of said platform. W hen it is desired to ascend ordescend, the platform is simply pushed with the foot to swing it on itspivot and it will thereafter not interfere with a person going up ordown the ladder. After the abutments or jaws are once ad justed toengage a certain size of ladder stile, they need not be further touched,because only the clamping devices 11 need be moved. This will beunderstood because, as before stated, the abutments remain vertical withrespectto the inclined vertical edges of the ladder stiles and bytiltingthe brackcts after loosening the clamping devices 11, the brackets canhe slid up or down.

Although the inventionhas been specifically described, I wish it to beunderstood that within the scope of the invention as claimed, minorchanges in size or arrange= ment of parts may be resorted to if desired.Furthermore, as the invention will doubtless be understood from theforegoing description and drawings by persons skilled in this art, amore lengthy and detailed description is thought unnecessary.

, I claim 1. The combination with a ladder, of a pair of bracketsadjustablv connected with the stiles thereof and extending forwardlytherefrom to provide supporting arms, and a platform supported on andpivotally connected with one of the arms of said brackets.

The-combination with a ladder; of a pair of supporting bracketsconnected there? with and extending forwardly therefrom,

one of said brackets being provided with a bearing, a platform adaptedto extend across 7 the upper edges of sa1d brackets, and a pivot pincarried by one end of said platform and jcurnaled in said bearing. a

3. A device of the class described comprising a pair of brackets forattachment tothe stiles of a ladder, means for adjustably connecting thebrackets with the stiles, said means permitting the brackets to be ad justed to a substantially horizontal position when the ladder is restedin an inclined position against a building or the like, and a platformpivotally connected with one of the brackets, said platform beingcapable of being swung clear of the rungs to permit free ascent anddescent.

l. A. device of the class described comprising a pair of supportingbrackets, each bracket embodying spaced abutments for engagement withthe stile of a ladder, a platform to be supported on the upper edges ofthe bracket arms, and means for pivotally connecting said platform withone of said arms.

5. A device of the class described comprising a pair of supportingbrackets embodyingspaced adjustable abutments adapted to engage theforward and rear vertical edges of a ladder stile, means for preventingrelative vertical movementof said abutments, a platform adapted to besupported on the arms of said brackets, and means for pivotallyconnecting one end of said platform with one of said bracket arms.

6. The structure set forth in claim 5 together with adjustable clampingdevices associated with said brackets and adapted for engagement withthe inner sides of the ladder stiles to guard against accidentaldisconnection with said abutments.

7. In a device of the class described, a strip of metal bent between itsends to provide an abutment for engagement with one edge of a ladderstile, the portion of said bracket extending beyond said abutmentconstituting a supporting arm for a platform, said arm being formed witha slot adj acent the abutment, a second abutment adjustably connectedwith the arm through the medium of a bolt passing through said slot, anda safety device associated with said bracket and co-operable with theinner side of the stile to prevent accidental displacement of thebracket from the ladder.

8. In a device of the class described, brackets for connecting aplatform to a ladder, and safety devices for preventing accidentaldisplacement of the brackets, each device comprising a slotted platehaving one end bent at right angles to engage the stile of the ladder,said laterally bent end having a tongue struck therefrom and bent atright angles thereto, said tongue forming a stop which is adapted toengage the bracket for the purpose described.

9. A pair of brackets for connection to the stiles of a ladder, eachbracket embodying an abutment for engaging one edge of the adjacentstile, and an arm extending beyond the stile, a bearing mounted on oneof the bracket arms, a platform supported on said arms and equipped witha pivot pin journaled in said bearing to permit the platform to be swungaway from the rungs of the ladder to permit free ascent and descent, apair of abutments engaged with the opposite edges of the stiles, saidabutments being adjustably connected with the brackets, channel-shapedmembers co-operative with the abutments for preventing relative verticalmovement thereof, and safety devices adjustably connected with saidbrackets and engaged with said stiles to prevent accidental displacementof the brackets.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

MARTIN n. MYERS.-

